Shocked, sad over Orlando shooting: Pranab Mukherjee

ACCRA: President Pranab Mukherjee today condemned the worst mass shooting incident in the US that killed 50 people and said India condemns terror in "all its forms and manifestations" while calling for immediate collective action to check the scourge of terrorism.

In a condolence message to President Barack Obama, Mukherjee, who is here in Ghanaian capital on the first-leg of his six-day visit to three African nations, said the attack was yet another "grim reminder" that the world must come together to address, comprehensively and urgently, the scourge of terrorism, its perpetrators and also those who support or harbour them.

"I was shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the deadly attack against innocent civilians in Orlando earlier today. I offer my deepest sympathies to all those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.

"India condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We believe that there can be no justification for such senseless acts of violence," he said in his message.

"The people of India stand by the people of the United States of America in their moment of grief and mourning. We pray for the families that have lost loved ones and for the swift recovery of the injured," the President said.

Mukherjee is on a six-day visit to Ghana, Ivory Coast and Namibia, that began yesterday.

At least 50 people were killed and 53 were injured in the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando in the US yesterday.

Armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, the attacker Omar Mateen, a New York-born man of Afghan descent, opened fire on revellers in the packed gay nightclub.

The casualties far exceeded those of the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed, and the 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown where 26 people died.

The FBI has said that the 29-year-old, who was known to US authorities, legally purchased two firearms within the last week.